Routine Treatment

A ROUTINE CONSULTATION: WHAT TO EXPECT

All treatments provided by the AEDP respect the natural structure and function of teeth as part of the digestive system. We can accomplish most dental corrections by manual filing without causing excessive discomfort or trauma to the unsedated horse. Hygiene is also given careful attention; in the horse's environment this is a compromise but instruments are sanitized by immersion in antiseptic solution. The mouth is also rinsed with an antiseptic solution after procedures. Chlorhexadine gluconate is routinely used by the AEDP and has been proven to be extremely effective in oral hygiene application.

After booking a routine consultation for your horse, make sure that you are prepared and have the horses ready when the time of the visit arrives. Having a flat clean area to work in will make treatment easier. It is preferable to assess and treat a patient in a controlled environment; that means not in a communal paddock surrounded by other loose horses, for example. A horse wash, if it is available, is ideal. We are fully equiped to provide treatment for the vast majority of conditions as they occur in the horses' mouth. During the treatment you will be advised of our findings, and we will also make suggestions in regards to bitting and provide feeding advice. It goes without saying that using innapropriate feed or equipment may be harmful to your horse and is also a common cause of behavioural issues.

THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURES ARE CONSIDERED ROUTINE:

Routine and preventative maintenance of equine dentition by filing

Effecting minor bite adjustments of the incisors and molars in stages

Identifying and preventing disease of periodontal structures (structures that support the teeth)

Removing small teeth and wolf teeth

Removing deciduous incisors and molars (caps) when indicated

Treating minor lacerations of lips and cheeks

Removing feed which is packing between incisors

Advising clients on nutrition and feeding methods

Providing riders and drivers with bit and tack advice

Ensure horses that are ridden or driven have the 1st cheek teeth rounded to provide a bit comfort area (not a bit seat as this is an unsafe practice)

The use of forceps to cut teeth where it is necessary to reduce the length of a severely extended molar, incisor or canine. The only device appropriate for these procedures at present is to gradually reduce the length by grinding with a fine diamond rotary water-cooled disc or bur. This process prevents overheating or fracture of teeth and is somewhat comparable to the treatment by a human dentist.

The cutting or grinding down of the incisors in horses with a normal molar bite is incorrect as nature itself adjusts their level provided molars are not excessively filed; exceptions are the treatment of incisor shearmouth, correction required due to absent incisors and a limited number of other conditions.

SOME OF THE AEDP VIEWS AND OBSERVATIONS:

Good practice methods minimise the use of drugs and tranquillizers but when they are necessary they must be administered by a veterinary surgeon. Many 'dentists' routinely sedate many horses because of the agressive methods used. The use of drugs other than by veterinary surgeon or under direct instruction from a veterinary surgeon is not legal in Australia. Filing is a delicate matter and too much filing may cause the horse to spill feed when trying to chew, wash out its mouth in water and excrete an excessive quantity of whole fibre and oats in the manure. These factors have the potential to cause weight loss. Removing material from the molars by filing can diminish the horse's chewing ability. For example, one tooth completely smoothened on the left and the right molar arcade such as done by some to create a bit seat, means the loss of more than 15% of the total feed grinding surface on the dental arcades.

The 'bit seat' concept is not supported by this practice as this implies the bit is seated on the teeth, where it should not be. Proponents of this treatment will file the first bottom molar teeth down to the gumline. This may lead to:

Exposure of pulp chambers in the teeth

Hypersensitivity upon bit contact

Reduction of the occlusal surface used for grinding the feed

Encouraging the horse to clench and grind the bit at will as the bit can be easily pulled between the teeth by the rider or driver. Grabbing the bit will make the horse a 'puller' which is not responsive to the bit.